by Jason Byassee, May 28, 2014
Jason Byassee
May is Teacher Appreciation month. It is a good time to reach back out to teachers who influenced and blessed and loved us well. It is also a good time for our church to think about the God-given goodness of the vocation of teaching. Each week in May we’ll interview one of our teachers about their work and the ways they find God in it. I hope we’ll all learn more about the richness of the body of Christ of which we are all a part.
Anna Mills Welsh
What got you into teaching?
I have always loved children. When I was in high school, I babysat for a family with four children all under the age of five. It was a joy to watch them grow and learn each day. I learned quickly that teaching would be a fun and rewarding profession
Tell me about a teacher you admire.
We moved eight times growing up. Entering a new school at times could be a challenge. But I was blessed with wonderful teachers that helped me with my adjustment. When I moved from California to Minnesota it was difficult, but my 1st grade teacher, Mrs. Hawkins, wrote me letters every few months to check in on me. I was always thrilled to see a letter in the mail from her. She went above and beyond to show me love and encouragement. I will never forget her.
How does your faith weigh into your work as a teacher?
I used to teach preschool at a church in Asheville. One of my favorite songs that we taught the children was “Fruits of the Spirit” (“Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control”). I try to remember that song as I teach my students. These are all important qualities to have throughout life. Each morning as I prepare for school I try to remember to love the students as a Christian would love them.
Some days are difficult, I confess, but I try to exhibit a positive attitude for the students. I try to encourage and love the students. Each student has baggage that she or he carries into the classroom each morning. It may be that the parents argued the night before, lack of food at the house, a fight with a sibling, a sick family member . . . all these weigh on the children as much as they do on the adults.
I want to remember that when I hug or encourage, it may be the only positive action of love that they get that day. I give out silly cheers (roller coaster cheer, firecracker, superstar) when I see positive behaviors. The look on the child’s face is so priceless as they beam with pride. That is the greatest reward of teaching!
Tell me about a time when God surprised you with the goodness of your vocation.
I was a first grade teacher in a school in Atlanta that was 99% African American. I was the minority in the school. It was at that school that I learned a lot about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. What an amazing example of how a Christian should act and treat others.
My students taught me to look at the content of character and not the color of skin. I would often get pictures that the children had drawn of me. I would have brown skin and black hair. Well, I have light skin, freckles, and red hair. The students saw me as one of their own. We were a family. I know that God placed me in that setting to learn about looking at people from the inside. I now teach children from all different backgrounds. Some are affluent, some are living in poverty, some have special needs, some don’t speak English. But I try to teach them that we are all equal and can become a family that cares for one another.
Anna Mills Welsh has been a teacher for 16 years and is now a kindergarten teacher at Hardin Park School.
by Jason Byassee, May 22, 2014
Jason Byassee
May is Teacher Appreciation month. It is a good time to reach back out to teachers who influenced and blessed and loved us well. It is also a good time for our church to think about the God-given goodness of the vocation of teaching. Each week in May we’ll interview one of our teachers about their work and the ways they find God in it. I hope we’ll all learn more about the richness of the body of Christ of which we are all a part.
Nora Shoemake
What got you into teaching?
Like much in life, teaching was an unexpected path I tumbled on to. My family had recently moved to a new area and there were no available preschool openings for our then four year old daughter. Except, that is, for teachers’ kids. The preschool had a very last minute job opening and they were in desperate need of a teacher and I desperately wanted my daughter to have a preschool experience before kindergarten. We were a perfect match. That first job challenged and surprised me.
I reflect back on that new teacher and simultaneously envy her energy and cringe at her inexperience and naivety.
Tell me about a teacher you admired.
I admire teachers in general, but especially those who are unafraid to look silly, those who are constantly educating themselves, those who are willing to take risks, those who are curious, those who can admit and learn from mistakes, those who are passionate, and those who respect the dignity of their students.
How does your faith weigh into your work as a teacher?
With Colossians 3:23 as a guide (“Whatever your task, put yourselves into it, as done for the Lord and not for other people”) I rely on grace to work at teaching with my whole heart as unto the Lord. As a teacher in a Christian preschool, I have the privilege to pray with and for my students and to share and teach from the bible. Mostly, though, my faith opens my eyes to learn compassion, acceptance, love, forgiveness and joy from a group of four year olds.
Tell me about a time when God surprised you with the goodness of your vocation.
Not to sound trite, but I am reminded daily of the power of child-like faith. I have been humbled by the prayers of preschoolers, delighted to see God’s creation through their eyes, and saddened by the ways adults lose sight of what is truly important.
Nora Shoemake graduated from ASU with a degree in elementary education and currently teaches at Boone United Methodist Preschool. She and her husband, Ben, live in Boone with their three children.
by Jason Byassee, May 19, 2014
Jason Byassee
May is Teacher Appreciation month. It is a good time to reach back out to teachers who influenced and blessed and loved us well. It is also a good time for our church to think about the God-given goodness of the vocation of teaching. Each week in May we’ll interview one of our teachers about their work and the ways they find God in it. I hope we’ll all learn more about the richness of the body of Christ of which we are all a part.
Ronald Holste
What got you into teaching?
After graduating from high school, I was unsure about my next move in life. My grades were below average, my attention span was short, and my drive was non-existent. All that seemed to matter was to get a job that provided a bigger paycheck than the one Winn-Dixie provided. I worked on the assembly line at Thomas Built Bus, but something was not clicking. My parents insisted that I continue with my education and strive for more. That next fall I enrolled in the local community college.
For some reason, that instructor in a required calculus course made me feel like I wanted do well, if not for myself, for his respect. I am not sure why I felt compelled to impress him, but that desire pushed me to study hard. After several classes with this teacher, I realized teaching at the Community College level was my professional calling. I wanted to be a teacher that had high expectations for every student and encourage them to do their best.
Tell me about a teacher you admired.
Rupert Nacoste at NC State was one of the most inspiring teachers I had. I could not wait for each new class with him to begin. His stories and lectures always captured my attention. I use his lecture/story method to teach my classes today. Dr. Nacoste’s showed me that students have their own role in learning. When teachers inspire students, students can take that information and transform it in ways they learn best.
How does your faith weigh into your work as a teacher, since obviously it shouldn’t explicitly do so in a public school setting?
Faith is a part of who we are. It is impossible for us to separate it from our lives. I cannot walk into class and preach the word of God to my Psychology students. I can walk into the class and accept every single student wherever they are. Whether I agree with their beliefs or values is irrelevant. God works within them, just as He works within me. Practicing acceptance allows me to be present, to encourage all my students, and push them towards excellence.
Tell me about a time when God surprised you with the goodness of your vocation?
My surprise at God’s goodness came when I received my current full time teaching position at CCC&TI. Although I had long felt called to teach, it took nearly 15 years before I was confident enough to place myself at that level. Growing up, my respect for teachers was very high. I felt unworthy to place myself at that level. When I finally earned the courage to place my name on the list to adjunct for CCC&TI, it took only one meeting with the chair to obtain a General Psychology class. I loved it! During that semester, a position for a full-time Psychology Instructor came open. The chair mentioned the opportunity, but was very honest that I was new and several other longer-term adjuncts were applying. I perceived my chances as low, but my calling was in the back of my mind and I could use the experience preparing for future interviews. I applied for the position. A month after the interview, I received the call: “We want you to be our next Psychology Instructor.” I was shocked. This was my first semester teaching a course and I got a request to teach full time. This was an actual classroom! That entire situation was clearly God’s work.
Ronny Holste is a full time Instructor of Psychology at Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute (CCC&TI). He has been a member of Boone United Methodist Church since 2010 with his wife, Gina, and 2 year old daughter, Ava. Prior to his work at CCC&TI, Ronny was the Substance Abuse Prevention Director for the Western Youth Network (WYN).
by Jason Byassee, May 13, 2014
Jason Byassee
May is Teacher Appreciation month. It is a good time to reach back out to teachers who influenced and blessed and loved us well. It is also a good time for our church to think about the God-given goodness of the vocation of teaching. Each week in May we’ll interview one of our teachers about their work and the ways they find God in it. I hope we’ll all learn more about the richness of the body of Christ of which we are all a part.
Tracy Smith (Part 2)
How does your faith weigh into your work as a teacher, since obviously it shouldn’t explicitly do so in a public school setting?
Teaching has been my ministry. Sometimes, I have felt guilty that my ministry is not more “religious.” However, for me, teaching is sacred. I have taught middle school, high school, undergraduate and graduate students, and faculty peers. As a middle school teacher, I read aloud often to my students, so that I could convey voices of characters to students and bring those characters to life. I knew eighth grade might be the last chance to bestow on them a love of reading. I wanted them to long to read, to experience literature and stories, as I had. I wanted them to feel the tension in the courtroom as Atticus Finch taught his children, his neighbors, and generations of Harper Lee’s readers what real courage is. Teaching is investing in the lives of others. But I am the one who has received the most. Over and over, my students show me their generosity, compassion, intellect, curiosity – evidence that they are made in the image of God.
Tell me about a time when God surprised you with the goodness of your vocation?
In 1996, I was teaching eighth grade. My students and I wrote in journals and we took some time to share our writings with each other. Students often wanted me to read my entries. I wrote about what a wonderful group they were. I wrote about specific students and their acts of kindness, moments of exciting learning in our classroom, and other moral lessons.
That year, my grandmother became chronically ill. I stayed with her in the hospital for thirteen weeks. Sometimes, I was called away to go to her house and reinsert her feeding tube. During that time, instead of writing about my students, I wrote about my grandmother. Each Monday, my students wanted to hear about how she had done over the weekend. They extended care to me. My grandmother died in March, just before my students and I were to leave for a spring break trip to Washington, DC. We had worked so hard together raising the funds for this trip. The funeral was scheduled for the day of our departure. The bus with my students and the volunteer chaperones would have to leave without me. It was spring break so I couldn’t get a flight. Through a blessed series of events, the father of one of my students arranged my flight with a friend of his on a private plane – for only the cost of the fuel. At my grandmother’s service, I had four blue hydrangeas waiting for me – all from my students, who knew hydrangeas were my favorite. [I have moved those hydrangeas to three different houses]. I left after the funeral for my flight to DC. When I arrived in DC, I turned to pay the pilot. He said, “No, don’t worry. Someone already paid me.” I met my students at the Lincoln Memorial. They showered me with questions and condolences. What a wonderful group of human beings. I will never forget the compassion and care they extended to me. I witnessed the power of human kindness budding and blooming. It’s almost funny to me that I was trying to use my journal writing to teach them moral lessons. Today, nearly two decades later, I am Facebook friends with most of those students.
We are connected forever–because I was their teacher.
Tracy Smith is a professor in the College of Education and faculty development consultant at Appalachian State University. She and her family attend the 8:45 am Sunday services at BUMC.
by Jason Byassee, May 7, 2014
Jason Byassee
May is Teacher Appreciation month. It is a good time to reach back out to teachers who influenced and blessed and loved us well. It is also a good time for our church to think about the God-given goodness of the vocation of teaching. Each week in May we’ll interview one of our teachers about their work and the ways they find God in it. I hope we’ll all learn more about the richness of the body of Christ of which we are all a part.
Tracy Smith
New York Times best-selling author Pat Conroy writes
I wanted my teachers to make me smart. A great teacher is my adversary, my conqueror, commissioned to chastise me. He leaves me tame and grateful for the new language he has purloined from other kings whose granaries are filled and whose libraries are famous. He tells me that teaching is the art of theft: of knowing what to steal and from whom. Bad teachers do not touch me; the great ones never leave me. They ride with me during all my days, and I pass on to others what they have imparted to me. I exchange their handy gifts with strangers on trains, and I pretend the gifts are mine. I steal from the great teachers. And the truly wonderful thing about them is they would applaud my theft, laugh at the thought of it, realizing they had taught me their larcenous skills well.
What got you into teaching?
I always loved school. It was a safe place for me. I had excellent teachers who challenged me, loved me, nurtured me, read to me, and prepared me to think about a future that included college.
I found a sanctuary when I started school. I had access to colorful books, a clean classroom with shiny, waxed linoleum floors, and a warm meal at lunchtime. I was poor, but public education was free, and at a very early age, I somehow decided not to waste a priceless opportunity.
Rather than looking at my unfashionable clothes and hairstyle and imposing on me labels like “unfortunate” or “under-resourced,” most of my teachers saw the potential hidden inside me. My teachers challenged me to learn all that I could. Because of their encouragement and support, I received scholarships to fund my bachelor’s degree. I graduated with a B.A. degree in Secondary English Education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. And I became a teacher, too.
Tell me about a teacher you admired.
Sorry, I have two…
In third grade, every day before lunch, Mr. Ferguson would ask us to sit in a circle around his rocking chair, and he would read aloud to us. I have such vivid and fond memories of
Mr. Ferguson reading aloud to the class and bringing to life E.B. White’s barnyard tale of an unlikely friendship between a pig and a spider. Mr. Ferguson gave me a wonderful gift that year: love of reading. Antoine de Saint Exupery, author of The Little Prince once wrote, “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.” I longed for those 30 minutes, sitting at the feet of my teacher while he made stories come to life.
I was fortunate enough to have a high school English teacher who was an academic–she held a Ph.D. in English from Duke. She was a scholar who focused her work on her students’ learning. She studied our needs in order to challenge us. She was well-read and intelligent. She was the smartest person I had ever met. But somehow she made me believe I was smart, too.
I remember sitting in Dr. Eggers’s English class during my senior year of high school. I was a bit uneasy because she expected so much from me and from all my peers. She challenged us in a way that no other teacher had. I was not sure I could deliver. But she was. At that time, I didn’t even know what a Ph.D. was. No one in my family had ever even attended a university. Still, I remember thinking, “I don’t know what a Ph.D. is, but I’m going to get one someday.” In 1999, I was awarded a Ph.D. (with distinction) in Curriculum and Teaching. I returned to my high school and taught high school English with Dr. Eggers. She was my department chair, and still an inspiration, still my teacher.
In one class period per day, in one school year, her influence changed my life forever.
To be continued….
